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BearSpray
Shack

BearSpray
Shack

Brown bear
Hassle free 24/7 rental machines making it super duper easy to rent bear spray for ONLY the days you need it–all at a price that won’t attack your wallet.

Rentals start as low as $10.

Locations

Locations around Glacier
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Glacier National Park

Locations around Yellowstone
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Yellowstone National Park

Locations in Grand Teton
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Grand Teton National Park

Bear Spray Rental Kiosk

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How it Works

Bear Spray Shack is similar to your favorite red movie rental box but for bear spray. You can rent AND return our bear spray canisters straight at the rental machine.

We geek out on technology, and the programing behind Bear Spray Shack validates that every canister rented will be un-sprayed, at full volume, and safe for re-distribution.

Walk-up Rentals

Bear Spray Shack has the first and only completely automated bear spray rental vending machines. Just walk-up and follow the on screen instructions. Check our Real Time Inventory Status before heading out.

Scan the Can

Every canister has a QR code on the side that will bring you to our On the Go page. Perfect for those who need instructions on how to use bear spray or anyone wanting a quick refresher.

Any Location Drop Off

Multiple 24/7 Shack locations means returning your can of bear spray has never been easier. Even if you’re out exploring nature from dusk to dawn, you can conveniently return your rental to any location, any time.

Don’t Skip the BS

Rentals start as low as $10.

OUR SHACK HAS YOUR BACK

Bear Safety

When it comes to preserving your safety, peace of mind, and outdoor wildlife playgrounds at large, we believe that arming yourself with bear spray shouldn’t be a complicated or costly process.

Be Bear Aware

West Yellowstone Shack

Protection for the ‘outdoorsy’ people

How To Use
Bear Spray

If you’re not sure where to start with bear spray, we’ve got some tips and a step-by-step guide for how to use it that will make your life a lot easier—and maybe even save it!

Learn More

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  • Planning to visit Glacier National Park this Fall? Remember to know closure dates for lodging and stores, check trail conditions, bring warm layers, watch for interesting wildlife behavior, and don’t skip the BS (bear spray)! 🚧 Check seasonal road closures and potential incoming weather before arriving. The first significant snowfall often occurs in October and may close certain roads. Visitors centers, lodges, hotels, campgrounds, grocery stores, and bathrooms are usually closed by mid-October. Plan to base yourself outside the park in Kalispel, Columbia Falls, or Whitefish, MT. 🐻 Need bear spray? Bear Spray Shack's partners Hyatt Studios (Kalispell) and @wonderstoneusa (Columbia Falls) have you covered! 🧤 Bring extra warm layers, food, and water. Daytime highs in the park average in the 50s and nighttime lows in the 30s. Trails above 4,000ft may be icy - bring winter layers and consider traction devices (like microspikes) and gaiters to keep snow out of your shoes. ⏰ Time your activities well. The sun sets earlier at this time of year - around 6:15pm by late October. Consider planning shorter hikes so you can be back at the trailhead well before sunset. Fall is also a great time for wildlife viewing - there are fewer crowds, and it’s the peak of the moose and elk rut. Bears will also be more active in the fall as they eat 22 hours a day to prepare for hibernation. You might try an hour of wildlife watching before or after your hike, as dawn and dusk are often the most active times. 🍁 Enjoy the changing seasons. While peak fall colors occur in September-early October, there are still some on display later on. The western larch’s needles turn yellow in mid-October, before falling off for the winter. Yes, there is such a thing as a deciduous conifer! Highway 2 at the south end of the park offers some of the best roadside larch-peeping. You can also walk trails like the South Boundary Trail or Loneman Lookout.
  • Not illegal, but it feels like it. Even though carrying bear spray isn’t REQUIRED and nobody will give you a TICKET, you should still carry it. Keep yourself safe, keep the bears from getting into trouble (and therefore keep them safe), and keep the park from having to send rangers to save you from a marmot you thought was a bear.
  • Bear spray is common now, but it was invented less than 50 years ago. • After college, zoology graduate Carrie Hunt spent 3 seasons in Yellowstone National Park working with the Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team. During this time, she witnessed many bears get relocated and then euthanized after conflicts with people. She decided she needed to return to school to do something to help the bears. • In 1981, Hunt joined the University of Montana as a graduate student, working with biologist Chuck Jonkel. Her goal was to find a way to deter bears from entering campsites at night, which at the time was the number one cause of human fatalities from bear attacks. • Hunt discovered that Halt, a capsaicin-based pepper spray originally used by mailmen to deter dogs, turned away every bear in her research. Because Halt could only spray 6 feet, Hunt then worked on a longer spray range. • Bill Pounds, who later founded Counter Assault, helped Hunt develop a prototype with a 20 foot long, 3 foot wide spray range. • Human injuries from bears have decreased from 45 per year in the 1960s to 1 per year in the 2000s. The number of bears who have been removed or euthanized has also decreased significantly, from 37 bears (33 black bears and 4 grizzlies) per year in the 1960s to less than 1 bear total per year in the 2000s. • Where is she now? In 1996, Hunt founded the Wind River Bear Institute, where she still works training Karelian bear dogs. These dogs are ‘Wildlife K9’s’, a non-lethal bear deterrent (like bear spray), and are used to safely push large and/or aggressive wildlife away from areas of potential human conflict.
  • 🌲 National Public Lands Day is an annual celebration organized and led by the National Environmental Education Foundation, in partnership with the National Park Service and other federal agencies. This year’s theme is ‘Together for Tomorrow,’ which they describe as “stewarding America’s natural resources for future generations to enjoy.” 🏞️ Volunteer events are held across the country - check out your local public land agency’s website to find one near you. ⚒️ Even if there aren’t local events, you can practice good stewardship! There might be an organization near you that recruits volunteers for trail building or maintenance. And on your own, remember: When recreating outside, leave no trace and pack out your trash. Bonus points for keeping an extra plastic bag handy to grab rogue trash that others left behind. Always obey fire restrictions and put out campfires fully. Stay on trails, avoid crosscutting, and choose established campsites whenever possible. And remember to have fun on YOUR public lands!
  • You’re driving down the park road when you see a brown blob out of the corner of your eye - it’s a bison! It’s a bear! Oh, maybe it’s a stump. Here are some tips for ethical wildlife and stump-bear viewing: • Keep a safe distance from all wildlife - this is at least 100 yards from bears and wolves, and 25 yards from all other animals. Take binoculars or even a spotting scope for a better view from a safe distance. Do NOT get out of your car if the wildlife is too close! • Pull your vehicle completely off the roadway - park with all four tires fully over the white line. • Don’t stop your vehicle in the middle of the road to observe wildlife. • Don’t honk at wildlife - be patient and let the bison cross the road. And, don’t block wildlife access to cross the road. Be observant of where the animal appears to be heading and allow it to pass. • Don’t try to entice wildlife closer or call out to it. This is not a “here, kitty kitty” situation. • Follow the instructions of rangers and wildlife management volunteers. If they say to keep driving, even if you heard there is a bear nearby, you must keep driving.
  • You may have heard the phrase “a fed bear is a dead bear”. This comes from the way bears are managed after negative interactions with humans, or due to our carelessness. Bears learn - if a bear is able to access human food, it will return and attempt the same thing. This often leads to human-bear conflicts and either relocating or euthanizing the bear. This month, a bear frequenting the Delta Lake area in Grand Teton National Park was lethally removed. Hikers repeatedly offered the bear food, and it learned that approaching people resulted in food rewards. The bear then became unusually difficult to haze and continued to approach people. Grand Teton previously cited multiple visitors for food storage violations, and approaching wildlife, related to this incident. The park stated: “This bear was lethally removed because of poor decisions made by park visitors. It is everyone’s responsibility to help keep bears wild.” This was preventable, and the outdoor community can do better. If you are visiting bear country, remember that careless actions can make you more dangerous to bears than they are to you.
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